As of this writing, the fastest gaming laptop in our database isn’t an Alienware or Razer, and it doesn’t cost more. It has the highest productivity score and frame rate in two of our three real-world game tests. SteelSeries made the per-key RGB gaming keyboard on the laptop, which lets you change the colour of the lights on each key as you see fit. But the keyboard’s shallow depth leaves something to be desired, especially when playing FPS games with a lot of movement like the Overwatch 2 beta.
You can also use one of the Vector GP66’s three Type-A USB 3.2 ports to connect a gaming keyboard or mouse that you already have. The Vector GP66 also has a 3.5mm audio jack and a single Type-C USB 3.2 port on the left side of the device. The charging port, Mini Display port, and HDMI port are all on the back of the laptop, which is handy.
Both can output video at 8K at 60Hz and 4K at 120Hz, so you can connect external gaming monitors to improve your experience. Speaking of monitors, the native 165Hz QHD display and 2560 x 1440p resolution of the Vector GP66 is a great feature that gives you a smooth visual experience in most games, even though it doesn’t support Nvidia G-Sync.
Gamers who are willing to give up resolution for a faster refresh rate can also choose a configuration with a 1920 x 1080 FHD 240Hz display. Even though the MSI Vector GP66 says it can handle Hi-Res Audio, the audio quality of its built-in speakers isn’t very good. The way they played music and games was disappointing, so it’s best to use headphones.
The Vector also did very well on the SPECviewperf 3dsmax 3D rendering test, getting 110fps. In our tests, only the Alienware x17 and the Acer Helios 500 did better. Things are even more impressive when you look at how well the Vector works for games, because it is so fast.
In fact, the results at QHD are so good that it’s almost pointless to run tests at Full HD on the Vector. For example, got 105fps at 1440p and 130fps at 1080p with Ray Tracing on and DLSS off at the highest setting. Wolfenstein: Youngblood got 153fps at 1440p under the same conditions. At 1080p, all the results were at or very close to the maximum refresh rate.